July 26/08 10:35 am - Tour de l'Abitibi: report and full results

Posted by Editoress on 07/26/08

Tour de l'Abitibi Val-d'Or QC

Oliver Harding-Sheath Marks a First Victory for New ZealandReport courtesy Tour de l'Abitibi

The 40th edition of the Tour de l'Abitibi was launched Friday evening with the prologue of this prestigious event. One hundred fifty-five competitors faced the daunting starting ramp to finish their sprint 400 metres later. The rain moved in for the evening when at most one-third of the cyclists had managed to cross the finish line.

The fickle weather did not put a damper on the efforts of Oliver Harding-Sheath of the New Zealand national team, who finished in 27.22 seconds, defeating his nearest rivals by more than a full second. Harding-Sheath may turn out to be a fine successor to his fellow New Zealander Tom David who made a name for himself in 2007 by winning two of the stages of the Tour de l'Abitibi.

The Americans Andrew AJ Meyer (28.25 seconds) and Ty Magner (28.29 seconds), both from the Florida Velo Development Team, graced the second and third steps of the podium in this first outing of the Tour.

The first stage of the road trials will be held tomorrow, during which time the cycists will cover the distance between Preissac and Val-d'Or. For this event Oliver Harding-Sheath will be sporting the brown jersey while Andrew AJ Meyer will be wearing the blue jersey, which is awarded to the best first-year junior.